As an orthopedic surgeon at Commonwealth Orthopaedics, I am seeing a rise in the number of youth sports injuries while the age of these young athletes is decreasing. In particular, I am seeing more overuse injuries in younger kids. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), high school athletes alone account for an estimated two million injuries, 500,000 doctor visits, and 30,000 hospitalizations every year.

That is why the AOSSM and the AAOS joined the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, the National Strength and Conditioning Association, and SAFE Kids USA and launched the STOP (Sports Trauma and Overuse Prevention) Sports Injuries campaign.

The campaign educates athletes, parents, trainers, coaches, and healthcare providers about the rapid increase in youth sports injuries, the necessary steps to help reverse the trend and the need to keep young athletes healthy.